One penalty apiece from fly-halves Stephen Jones and Andre
Pretorius were the only scores until stoppage time in the first
period.

South Africa thought they had scored four minutes before the break when the pack crashed over the line, but the referee ruled that the ball had been held up.

But the Springboks kept up the pressure and sucked in the Welsh cover before spinning the ball wide, allowing rookie fullback Brent Russell to dive over in the left-hand corner and give the home side an 8-3 lead at the break.

Rhys Williams couldn't convert a late opportunity

Russell, usually a fly-half, had a fine match out of position, as the South Africa defence was stretched time and again with big drives from the Wales pack.

That forward pressure reaped its just reward six minutes after the restart when Wales opted for a five-metre lineout

Wales captain Colin Charvis cheered the tourists by levelling the scores when he was driven over the tryline.

Jones failed with the conversion but Wales were back in the match.

However, two further penalties from Pretorius moved the home side into the lead as South Africa played the rainy conditions better.

Yet it was only when coach Rudolf Straeuli brought on replacement scrum-half Craig Davidson for Johannes Conradie
that the correct game plan was applied.

With Davidson booting the ball behind the advancing Welsh
defence, the Springboks chased hard and unsettled the Welsh back three to set up precious scoring opportunities.

Wales have improved over the two Tests

"Craig is a great kicker of the ball, and the wind dropped late in the second half enough for him to take advantage of the conditions," South Africa skipper Bob Skinstad said.

Wales came very close to stealing a win when the Springboks lost possession on the attack, allowing right wing Rhys Williams to gather on his own 22 and almost manage to outsprint the cover defence.

It took a match-saving tackle from Davidson to stop the Cardiff flyer from scoring.

A late blunder by Charvis ensured that South Africa would win the match, the skipper's kick being charged down for a try by debutant Davidson four minutes from the end.

The decision went to the television referee but it was clear that the ball had been touched down by the Sharks scrum-half.

Pretorius failed with the conversion but the missed two points mattered little to the final result